ICON17, which is Infusionsoft annual user conference wrapped up in Phoenix, Arizona in late April 2017.
This is the third year that I have attended (here are some previous year wraps up from 2014 and 2015 (didn't write a summary regrettably in 2016 sorry!)).
2017 however, was definitely up there as one of my most favourite ICONs!
This is primarily for the three main reasons – The learnings, the product updates, and the people.
Let me explain why 
The Learnings
Let me first touch on some of my biggest learnings over the three days that I got.
Keep it simple and do the basics well.
It was highlighted by Clate Mask, CEO of Infusionsoft in his opening speech this important theme.
Which seemed to be accidentally carried through by a number of speakers and presenters over the three-day event.
This message is particularly important when it relates to follow-up.
Make sure you have three follow-ups in place:
- Lead Generation
- Welcome
- Long Term Nurture
Without these, you are potentially losing a lot of leads and sales on the backend.
It sounds too simple, doesn't it?!?!
But even the ICON Finalists stressed the importance that they aren't doing anything special with Infusionsoft, just making sure they have the follow-up in place!
Speaking of ICON Finalists, in case you're not aware, ANY Infusionsoft user can apply to become a finalist and they select the top 3 every year who share their story and success they have had with implementing the software.
All the finalist had remarkable growth and wins, and I was personally delighted to see Dierks Farms take the crown.
I have a number of uncles and aunties that run farms and can appreciate it's a tough gig.
It was fabulous to see this family be innovative by transforming their traditional business to create a new and solid stream of revenue supported through Infusionsoft.
(One cool thing that they shared was that they ran a Black Friday Sale, so people opted in, but they asked them what products they wanted to be on sale. So anyone who responded was even more keen to check out the sale to see if what they requested they could buy on sale – pretty basic but neat right?!?).
Congratulations Dierks Farms!
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Another highlight on the learning from for me was from Marcus Lemonis.
He's been one of my business heroes for years and I was ridiculously excited that he was presenting at ICON!
His presentation was completely different to what I expected.
Nonetheless, it was moving and insightful.
The big message here:
Don't judge people.
Everyone's got their own stuff going on.
Be kind.
Don't let your last crappy experience get in the way of your experience with someone else.
Find your story, be vulnerable and share it.
More people will relate to you and want to do business with you understanding who you are.
They were my key highlights from the event – from Marcus, Clate and the theme from all regarding doing simple follow up…
There is, of course, more tactical stuff that we're taking from it…
For example – getting backlinks from other websites to our main site, presenting the perfect offer to the right person at the right time, understanding how long you should nurture someone based on the average time it takes to buy your product/service and the list goes on…
If you'd like some more detail, drop me a line, happy to share some more stuff with you.
Product Updates
Infusionsoft generally uses ICON as a way to communicating some key features/functionality updates to its users.
There are some great additions to the flagship Infusionsoft product that were released at ICON.
My favourites include:
- Landing Page Templates
- Infusionsoft WordPress Plugin
These are fundamentals because most Infusionsoft users are using external paid tools to build their landing pages and to create pop-ups.
They are both in beta at the time of writing this blog, but highly recommend that you check these out.
They may be a substitute for leadpages, click funnels or other similar tools, that will help you save on additional software costs as Infusionsoft would now deliver this functionality.
Yay – we love saving on software costs and also managing things in one place right?!?!
Other Cool Stuff…. Ummm, Like Automation Being Available To ALL Small Businesses – No Matter What The Size!!!!
In case you didn't see the announcement… Infusionsoft is launching a new product called Propel.
This will be launched later in 2017 to help solopreneurs and other smaller businesses to get started with automation.
As a Certified Partner that speaks with businesses every day, I know that Infusionsoft isn't the best fit for everyone.
Particularly for those just starting out or who don't have a big database.
I cannot wait for this product to be available!
It's designed to make it a LOT easier for businesses to launch automation FAST, without needing to build out the automation processes yourself.
You'll have access to proven campaigns that work and that you can select, make some slight modifications and quickly execute in your business e.g. Sending out a coupon code, asking for referrals and the list goes on!
If you're curious about Infusionsoft Propel or some other cool stuff that we're working on to help even the one person small business who aren't quite ready for the flagship Infusionsoft product, please drop me a line here.
We'd be happy to keep you up to date with what's going on.
The People
The final yet I think the most important part of ICON is the people.
Every year I talk about this, but the people who attend this event are switched on and up to stuff in their lives and businesses!
It's a pleasure to share this event with all of them.
Being that it's my third year, I know a few people who attend every year but also it's been wonderful meeting new faces this year again.
For someone like me who works from home on my own, ICON feels like coming home and I'm delighted to call so many colleagues and users from around the world my friends.
Here a few of the primarily the Australian crew (plus a few other internationals in there as well!)
I get traveling from another country to attend a conference isn't for everyone.
However, everyone, I spoke with this trip that makes the journey said it was worthwhile.
Whether it was from that one ah-ha or idea from a session, or that one conversation in one of the breaks or out at dinner that can transform their business.
I absolutely love it and I'm all set to attend ICON18 and hope you seriously consider it as well!
So that's it, that's the wrap for 2017.
Thank you for everyone who was part of the ICON17 journey.
Until next year friends!!
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